IBM
One of the largest information technology companies in the world, International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) was founded in 1888 and continues producing computer technology. In 1965, IBM commissioned a series of industrial films from Jim Henson, who worked alongside IBM's film and television head, David Lazer. The films were a mixture of motivators and sales reels (spotlighting IBM's typewriters, early word processors, and other products) and comedic break shorts, intended as icebreakers during long meetings. A notable example of the latter is "Coffee Break Machine," in which a prototyped Cookie Monster consumes an exaggerated talking computer. These shorts in effect were the first Muppet Meeting Films, which would be made available to any corporate client; some of these later entries were direct remakes of the IBM shorts. Films Rowlf the Dog films Several of the 1966-1967 IBM industrial films, for internal use, featured Rowlf the Dog. One had Rowlf singing "My Way," as an early example of Rowlf playing the piano. Another featured Rowlf introducing IBM's new Hippie Products Division (HPD), including a complicated IBM electric guitar. A more elaborate film, divided into three parts with a conclusion, has Rowlf joining IBM as a salescanine, to the surprise of the Office Products Division sales head ("What do you mean we hired a dog?") Rowlf recounts his business adventures in a letter to his mother, as typed on a succession of IBM typewriters. Rowlf struggles to make a sale (his ethics causing him to actively flee a customer who admitted to looking at another typewriter in a store window) but he remains optimistic and dogged. A series of commercial spoofs to sell IBM follow, directed by Rowlf himself, spoofing the campaigns of Doublemint, Timex, and Avon. Finally, Rowlf succeeds in meeting 100 percent quota and enjoys a trip to the 100 Percent Club gathering. In another film, Rowlf writes to the head of his department, having devised a way to pep up their annual summer review of the company rules (which he had fallen asleep during). He envisions himself starring in an IBM revue, where he plays the joke-telling emcee, a soft-shoe duo (The Brothers Rowlf) and a singer who performs the big closing number (backed up by four of the Ideal Rowlf puppets). At the end, it is shown Rowlf is writing the letter as a way of passing the time while locked in the meeting room.Shown as part of "Henson in High Definition: The Early Years" at Museum of the Moving Image on May 22, 2015 Image:Rowlf-guitar.jpg|Rowlf for IBM's hippie division Image:Rowlf-IBMselectricball.jpg|Rowlf gazes in wonder at the IBM Selectric Coffee Break Machine 1967 film called Coffee Break Machine featured an early version of Cookie Monster. File:1967_ibm_film13.jpg File:1967_ibm_film14.jpg File:1967_ibm_film15.jpg File:1967_ibm_film16.jpg File:1967_ibm_film17.jpg File:1967_ibm_film18.jpg The Paperwork Explosion 1967 film called The Paperwork Explosion directed by Jim Henson and featured no Muppets. Image:Paperwork-explosion.jpg Image:Paperwork-explosion (1).jpg Image:Paperwork-explosion (2).jpg Image:Paperwork-explosion (4).jpg Image:Shot.paperworkexplosion.jpg Image:Paperwork-explosion (9).jpg Explosion Early versions of Leo and Grump appear in this meeting film, which was later remade in the 1980s. File:1967_ibm_film1.jpg File:1967_ibm_film2.jpg File:1967_ibm_film3.jpg File:1967_ibm_film4.jpg File:1967_ibm_film5.jpg File:1967_ibm_film6.jpg Kermit's Stepping Stones to Success Kermit and Beautiful Day Monster in an early version of "Leo and the Monster." File:1967_ibm_film7.jpg File:1967_ibm_film8.jpg File:1967_ibm_film9.jpg File:1967_ibm_film10.jpg File:1967_ibm_film11.jpg File:1967_ibm_film12.jpg The Snow Job Leo gives a motivation speech about helping his fellow employees, claiming he's not "snowing" anybody. The conference thinks otherwise and soon, he finds himself deep in a blizzard. File:SnowBusiness.jpg snowjob-blizzard.jpg Unfinished films According to The Jim Henson Company Archives, Henson started production on four additional films for IBM in the late 1960s. These films were entitled Excluded Mean, The File Clerk, The Crowd and Unpredictable; it is unknown if any of these films were ever completed. According to a curated entry of the Jim Henson's Red Book blog: Watson In 2016, IBM and Sesame Workshop announced a partnership to develop personalized educational platforms for preschoolers employing IBM's Watson computer."Sesame Workshop and IBM Watson Team Up to Advance Early Childhood Education," IBM News Room, April 27, 2016 In September, IBM released a commercial featuring Watson on Sesame Street conversing with Elmo, Cookie Monster, Abby Cadabby, Grover, Big Bird and several kids. In January 2018, Big Bird and Oscar (voiced by Caroll Spinney), and the numbers 9 and 5 (puppeteered by Ryan DillonRyan Dillon on Instagram), appeared in an IBM commercial set to the Dolly Parton song "9 to 5." Their cameo was filmed on July 1, 2017. File:IBM9to5.jpg| Sources External links *Jim's Red Book *The IBM Muppet Show at Technologizer __NOWYSIWYG__ IBM